Pixelated Audio

MUSHA Aleste with Toshiaki Sakoda – PA57

In the world of retro gaming there is no shortage of shoot ’em ups. It’s hard not to fall in love with their intense gameplay, flashy sprites, and insane music. Today we return to Compile, a company that had shoot’em ups down to an art form and with Musha Aleste, we feel they hit the perfect balance of look, control and sound. Join us as we dissect one of the best top down shooters of the entire 16-bit era with composer Toshiaki Sakoda as our guest towards the end of the show. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:12:38 — 108.8MB)

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Galvanic Gunner Aleste – PA56

Compile was responsible for dozens of games in the 80’s and 90’s but well-loved for their amazing shooters like the Aleste series. Aleste got its roots on the Sega Master System but made a portable detour on the Game Gear for two installments: GG Aleste (1991) and GG Aleste II: Lance Bird (1993). These vertical shooters are a blast to play, look gorgeous on Sega’s first handheld, and are bundled with music from the SN76489 that totally rocks our world.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:35:38 — 152.5MB)

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Granada – PA55

Granada is a top-down tank shooter developed and published by Wolf Team in 1990 for the Sharp X68000. It also saw a port to the Sega Genesis the same year. Join in as we listen to the FM synth as well as some MIDI versions of the soundtrack composed by Motoi Sakuraba. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11:16 — 114.5MB)

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Sunset Riders – PA54

In 1991, Konami was cranking out hits for pretty much every system available. However, Sunset Riders for the arcade, refused to blend into the herd of releases. While it’s fun music, bright colors and its availability in a beastly 4 player cabinet made it hard to miss, the gameplay made it hard to forget. Join us as we bury you with pixels from the music of the arcade (Motoaki Furukawa) and console ports. Continue reading →

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Jim Power with Chris Huelsbeck – PA53

Everyone knows that “Amiga love” flows thick in our veins; it’s just a fact. The humble home computer has had so many incredible composers write music for it’s games that many of us in North America are a bit unfamiliar with. Today we bring you the music of Jim Power in Mutant Planet from one of the most prolific western composers in video game history, Chris Huelsbeck. Not only that, he’s also a guest on the show!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:54:11 — 172.2MB)

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Madou King Granzort – PA52

Madou King Granzort was released in 1990 by Hudson Soft (developed by Mutech) for the PC Engine SuperGrafx. Sure, it’s a bit on the obscure side but we fell in love with this game almost immediately for its fun gameplay, challenging platforming, and vivid graphics. This little gem didn’t get a whole lot of love (namely due to being an exclusive SuperGrafx title) but packs a great soundtrack composed by Norihiko Yamanuki. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:18:56 — 116.1MB)

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